Time and Time again
by LovelyMagicDarkStrength
Summary: Everything she once knew is gone, and now she's being thrown into a word of new with strange places, and people. working for a organization she despises... But when she finds an old friend, will he help her bring her back? Save her from insanity? Will he ever tell her what it was he needed to say, the day she died?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Waking up

"Shepard! Shepard get up! This facility is under attack!" A female voice shouted over the loudspeaker. Shepard groaned, and cracked open her violet eyes. Bright lights blinded her vision, and she squeezed them shut again.

"Dammit Shepard! Someone is trying to kill you!" The voice shouted again. Shepard cracked a half smile.

_If I had a penny every time I've heard that… _There was a loud explosion, and Shepard fell off the bed and onto the cold hard ground of the space station. Pain erupted in her side, shooting into her stomach. She gasped, and opened her eyes wide. She could see her reflection in the shiny floor, the gnarled scars that now littered her cheeks and chin. Her face looked different… Thought she couldn't quite place it. Her hair was Auburn, and most of it hung on the left side, still in the military cut as it was before.

Before… What happened before? When was before? Shepard closed her eyes, trying to think. But her mind was full of haze.

"There's a Pistol in the cabinet next to you." _God that voice… Make it stop!_ Shepard groaned and gripped onto the table she fell off. She went to pull herself up, but struggled.

"What the hell?" She gritted through clenched teeth. Her muscles felt like they haven't been used in years…

Finally making it to her feet, she steady herself and strode towards the cabinet. Her legs wobbled for the first few steps, but soon they fell back into the same routine. She opened the locker, and in it she found her N7 armor, and a pistol. She slipped out of the uniform she was wearing, vaguely remembering the yellow emblem on the chest, and grabbed the chest plate, and hung it on her shoulders. The Armor started to hum, and then it expanded, wrapping itself around her torso and down onto her legs. She grabbed the black boots and slipped them on each foot, followed by shoulder pads and gloves. She grabbed the pistol and made her way towards the door.

"This pistol doesn't have a thermal clip." Shepard said.

"You'll have to find some- Damn! The canisters by the door are going to explode! Take cover!" Shepard looked, and sure enough two canisters hissed.

"Damn." She said as she crouched behind a small wall. They exploded, sharps of metal flying over her head. The door slid open, and a thermal clip laid next to a body.

Grabbing the ammo, Shepard slammed it into the gun and cocked it. The pistol hummed as it took in the ammo, now ready for use.

"There are security mechs in the next room, take them out!" The women warned. Shepard came around the corner, and sure enough there stood a white robot. It shot at her, and Shepard threw her hand in front of her face. A purple barrier formed just in time, and the bullet ricocheted off and into the mechs head. Yet as soon as the bullet bounced off the barrier, Shepard flew off her feet and into the wall behind her. The purple barrier hummed and then dissipated, and Shepard coughed as she climbed to her feet.

"What the hell was that?!" Shepard shouted.

"Those were the handy work of the Genesis 12 Biotic amps."

"Genesis what?" Shepard cracked her back, and shook her head before she continued her way.

"A biotic amp that doesn't even exist yet." The women said pride evident in her voice.

"Is 'got one hell of a kick that's for sure…" Shepard walked through a few doorways, and into a room. Two mechs were crawling on the ground, towards what Shepard didn't know, or care. Easily she shot two rounds into each and then examined the room. A journal sat on a desk, a video recording waiting to be played. Shepard tapped the button, and the same voice from the loudspeaker came from the computer.  
"Project Lazarus is going better than expected; Subject is showing nervous system response as well as Muscle contraction. The Neural patterns in her brain are normal, her heart is strong as well as her lungs. All she needs now is to heal. 3 years of this… And finally it's paid off."

"3 years… of what?" Shepard asked out loud.

"I will explain everything to you, but first you have to get to the shuttles." Pushing curiosity aside, Shepard pushed on.

She exited the room, and opened the next door to find a live firefight with a man hiding behind cover. Shepard pulled her pistol from her hip, and ran next to him.

"Holy shit Shepard! What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Not really sure… Who are you?"

"Names Jacob, I could some help with these guys. We're low on clips, but I'm a biotic."  
"Nice to know, so am I." Shepard grinned as she shot out of cover and threw her hand upwards. 3 mechs were tossed upwards like springs, and then fell over the edge of the railing.

"I'm liking these new implants…" Shepard whispered before she took cover again.

"Look, since I woke up someone has been telling me what to do, and where to go. I need Answers!" Shepard shouted over the noise. Jacob popped out of cover, and jerked his arm towards his body. A mech flew off its feet, and came hovering towards him before falling into the gap. He came back into cover and spoke

"Help me with these mechs, and I'll play 20 questions with you all day." Shepard smirked. She had always been a powerful biotic, an Adept with great strength. But now? With the new amps, she felt unstoppable. Shepard peeked over the railing, and spotted two mechs in the corner. A door off to the side opened, and 3 more came in. They all were shooting blindly, but still on target. There was a pause in gunfire, and Shepard shot out of cover.

She extended her hand, feeling the biotic energy latching on to an unsuspecting mech, feelings its weight. She tossed it into another, and they went tumbling to the ground before exploding. She tossed a singularity towards the other three and turned her back as they were lifted, and sucked into oblivion.

"So, answer my questions now?"  
"Damn… Hold up to your legend that's for sure. As I promised, what do you want to know?"  
"What the hell is going on?" Jacob stared at her for a moment, and then sighed.

"Shepard, you've been dead for 3 years. You were spaced when the Normandy SR1 was attacked by an unknown vessel. All crewmembers made it out, except you. The Alliance declared you killed in Action, but we went looking for you anyways. With the best medical equipment money can buy, Miranda and her team rebuilt you and brought you back to life. Do you remember any of it?..." Jacob asked. Shepards mouth hung open, shock written on her face.

She was dead? For three god-damn years? She tried to think back, to the time before she woke up.

Yet the last thing she remembered was having breakfast with Kaidan… and Garrus wanting to speak to her about something. Her mind drew a blank, and she shook her head

"No… I… I don't remember any of it."

"Hello!? Is there anybody there?!" A voice came over the Comm. in Jacob's ear. He tapped on his Omni-tool, and patched Shepard in.

"Wilson! This is Jacob, where are you?"

"Server room B! They're everywhere! I need help."

"Stay right there, Shepard and-"

"Shepard's alive? How the hell… Never mind that! Hurry up! Their coming!" Jacob started to run down a hallway, and Shepard followed. They ran up a set of stairs, and walked into find a bald man leaning against some crates. Blood pooled around his leg, and he grimaced as Jacob touched it.

There were a rush of pictures, and sounds. Voices and the feeling of cool air.

* * *

"_There on the monitor. What's that say?" a female voice said. A blurry image of a women dressed in white and black walked past Shepard._

"_She's reacting to outside Stimuli. Aware of her surroundings." Wilson… it was Wilsons voice._

"_Run the numbers again! She isn't ready for this yet!"_

"_Heart rate accelerating, blood pressure climbing, she'll go into cardiac arrest!"_

"_Give her a sedative! Now!" Breath came in short quick pants, Shepard lifted her arm, it felt… light. Like it wasn't even there. A women appeared in her face, ice blue eyes, beautiful dark hair and perfectly carved features. She touched Shepards arm, but she didn't feel it._

"_Don't move Sheppard, try to stay calm." She said._

"_Give her another dose!" She turned to the other person. There was a hiss, and suddenly everything stopped. Shepard's ears felt plugged, her hearing almost gone. She tried to focus on what they were saying, she was obviously mad, but Shepard let her eyes slide shut. And the abyss took her in again…_

* * *

"You! You were there when I first regain consciousness!" Shepard exclaimed.

"Yeah… that was me-Agh!- can we talk about this after we fix my leg?"

"There's Medi-gel on the wall, grab it for me." Jacob said. Shepard walked over to the first-aid kit on the wall, and grabbed a silver tin. She ran back over to Jacob, and he popped the tin opened and scooped out the clear gel. Gently, he started to rub in onto Wilson's leg. In an instant, the skin pulled back together and Wilson was fine.

"We need to hurry, the shuttles are just through those doors." Wilson said as he started to hobble away from them.

"Wait a minute, why are you here in security? You were in the Bio wing?" Wilson paused.

"I was trying to stop the mechs, see if I could fix this."

"How do you even have clearance?"

"Weren't you listening? I was trying to stop this!" Shepard narrowed her eyes at the doctor. Jacob glanced back at her, the same look in his eye.

"Doesn't matter, those mechs are shooting at all of us. Let's just get going." Shepard said. Just as she started to move, Jacob stopped her.

"Wait, this is getting tense. Shepard, if I tell you who we work for, will you trust us?"

"This really isn't the time Jacob." Wilson said.

"we'll get nowhere if she's expecting a shot in the back."

"It's your ass then dude." Shepard turned to look Jacob in the eye

"The program that rebuilt you, it was Funded by Cerberus." Shepards eyes widened

"Are you serious…" Shepard groaned.

"The Alliance declared you dead! Cerberus spend billions bringing you back, I had to tell you. The Illusive man will explain everything, once we get out of here." Jacob said. Shepard rolled her eyes, and pushed on.

* * *

"Ah, Shepard. Good to see you."  
"Illusive man." Shepard said curtly as she stepped into the hologram.

"I thought we'd be meeting face to face."

"A necessary precaution."

"What do you want?"

"Human colonies have gone missing in the terminus system, one day they're there, the next they are gone. Complete radio silence, and everything look fine except every man women and child is gone. The Alliance is doing nothing about it, to concerned with politics to even notice. I need you to help humanity, our people are gone. Thousands and thousands of people." _Straight to the point then… _

"Alright. I'll help." This seemed to surprise the Illusive man.

"Miranda was sure you would be reluctant… she's usually never wrong." Sheppard rolled her eyes, Miranda… Perfect little bitch is what she is. She seemed fine, blasting Wilson's head off was cool, but when they made it to the space station, Shepard went to speak to Miranda, thanking her for everything she's done. But instead? Miranda said she didn't need a friend, and to keep your eye on the prize… Unbelievable.

"I am reluctant, but you gave me my life back. And, these missing colonies may have something to do with the reapers. I'm willing to check it out."

"There was a colony that was recently hit, take Miranda and Jacob with you to go check it out. Hopefully, you'll find some solid evidence." Shepard walked out of the hologram room, and up the stairs to find Jacob and Miranda waiting by the doors, ready to go.

Without another word, they boarded the shuttle and made their way to the planet's surface.

"This is your operation Shepard, how do you want it handled?" Miranda asked.

"Gather evidence, search for survivors. Maybe someone made it this time…"

* * *

A/N: First chapter... I think it came together nicely. I'm going through a Mass effect phase, Funny I know. Anyways, review please! the more reviews I get the faster I update:) enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Old friends meet again.

* * *

Shepard rolled behind a crate, barely having enough time to get out of the way before the Fenris mech exploded. Shards of metal bounced of Shepard's barriers, and she took in a deep breath. Ever since they landed on Freedom's progress, it was a rough fire fight. Shepard was impressed with Jacob's skill, as well as Miranda's. As Miranda shot the last Mechs head off, Shepard reloaded her SMG and started to walk towards a building.

As the door's slid open, Shepard found herself at gun point, surrounded by Quarians. Shocked, Sheppard held up both of her hands, but Jacob and Miranda pulled but their guns in response.

"What is Cerberus doing here!?" A Quarian shouted through his mask. Another voice came into play

"Prazza you said you'd let me handle this!" Shepard knew that voice…

Out from the crowd came a very familiar, very curvy Quarian. Her mask was purple, as well as most of her suit. She looked at Shepard, and through the mask her glowing eyes widened.

"Sh… Shepard?" Shepard smiled

"It's me Tali." Shepard went to take a step forward, but the man named Prazza shoved the gun in her face. _Okay, this guy…_ Shepard's biotics flared, lighting up the room in a purple glow.

"Prazza lower your weapon!"

"But she's with Cerberus! You can-t really think-"

"I don't know what to think, but if you calm the FUCK down, maybe we can figure this out!" Tali shouted. Shepard's eyebrows shot skyward, she never heard Tali speak like that before. Prazza seemed reluctant, but with a growl he lowered his weapon. The sheen of purple faded quickly, and Shepard looked at Tali, who seemed like she had just seen a ghost.

"Did I miss something between you and Cerberus?" Shepard asked.

"They infiltrated our flotilla, took information, and tried to blow up one of our ships." Prazza sneered

"I wouldn't word it that way. It was nothing personal, just business" Miranda's smug voice came from behind Shepard. Prazza took a step forward, but Tali's arm shot out in front of him

"What are you doing here?" she asked

"Investigating the missing colonies. And you?" Shepard asked

"One of our people is was here on pilgrimage."

"How do you know he's alive?" Jacob asked

"We saw him running into a warehouse when we arrived." Tali spoke calmly, but her gaze never left Shepards face.

"We should team up." Shepard grinned, she could almost feel the 'what the fuck' face on Miranda.

"Now we're working for Cerberus!?" Prazza protested.

"No Prazza, you're working for me and if you can't follow orders, go wait in the ship." Prazza crossed his arms, his shoulders tense. His glowing eyes narrowed through his dark mask, anger was just flowing from him in rivers.

"I'll take my team around the back, you go to the loading bay doors and we'll let you through." Tali said. She went to leave, But Shepard's hand snagged onto her small wrist.

"I missed you Tali. It's good to see you again." Shepard smiled

"I'm still trying to get over the fact that you're even Alive Shepard. I saw you floating in space…" a feeling of panic washed over Shepard, she remembered the cold numb feeling spreading up her legs, feeling her oxygen leaving her suit. She shook her head, and let go on Tali's wrist.

"It's all thanks to Cerberus I guess. I'll meet you on the other side of those doors" The two teams split up, and soon they were in position. Tali came over the comm.

"Shepard! Prazza took his team ahead; they are trying to get to Veetor before you get here! An YMIR mech is tearing his team apart!

"We should have seen this coming." Miranda commented. Shepard rolled her eyes

"Open the bay doors." As the giant metal doors slid open, Shepard's first sight was seeing a Quarian flying across the space before them. A giant robot, 9 feet tall, came stomping towards the fleeing Quarians. It leaned back, blasting a rocket out of one arm.

"Damn." Shepard gasped. Quickly she ran behind a crate and sent Miranda and Jacob in to other positions surrounding the Mech. The robot stomped on a Quarian, and then blasted her head off with his Mass accelerated machine gun.

"Shields and Heavy armor plating. This is going to be one tough son-of-a-bitch to take down." Miranda said.

"Overload his Shields!" Shepard ordered. Miranda did as she was told, popping out of cover, and tapping on her Omni-tool. Soon a blue spark emanated from the mechs chest.

"Shields at 50%" Jacob said as he glanced at his own Omni-tool. Shepard flew out of cover, throwing a warp in its direction. The Mech turned its attention to her, and started to shoot.

"Shit!" Shepard hid back behind her crate, the bullets flying past her face.

"Over-load! Quickly!" Shepard shouted. The crate started to shake, vibrating violently.

"Of course. It had to be a fragile one." Shepard growled. The shooting stopped, and Shepard dared to peek.

She saw the mech lean back, and hold up its rocket launcher towards her crate

"Miranda! NOW!" Shepard screamed. The Mech shot the rocket, and it exploded against the crate, throwing Shepard onto the ground.

She was in open space, with nowhere to go to. She knew her shields wouldn't hold long enough for her to make a mad dash for cover by Jacob. The Mech held up its other arm, Shepard could hear the parts in its arm start to whirr. Shepard threw her hands in front of her face, crossing her forearms.

There was another blue spark, and the Mech stumbled backwards.

"SHIELDS ARE GONE!" Jacob shouted. He began shooting at it with his shot-gun. Sheppard grinned, and threw both of her hands out. Tendrils of purple energy snaked around the Mechs body. The robot looked around in confusion.

"No shields to save you now." Shepard grinned. The thick armor covering its body started to dent, and warp. Shepard closed her hands into fists, causing the Mech to impale on itself. She then scrambled to her feet, and ran like the wind as the mech exploded.

"Holy shit." Jacob said, awe all over his face.

"I like these new amps" Shepard grinned widely. Miranda chuckled

"I knew you would. Come on, let's get the Veetor guy." They started to walk towards the ware house door.

"Oh, thanks for saving me." Shepard whispered. Shame covered Miranda's face

"It… it wasn't me. Overload wouldn't charge back up on my Omni-tool." Miranda kept her eyes forward. Shepard glanced back to see Tali walking back inside a building. A soft smile came across Shepards face.

"Still, You did one hell of a job back their Miranda."

"I wasn't fast enough, and it could have cost you your life. If won't happen again." With that, Miranda opened the ware-house doors to find a man, hunched over many computer screens.

"They'll be back, No one is safe. Must hide, mechs will protect. No swarms. No no-no-no-no." The Quarian shook his head vigorously.

"Veetor? I'm commander Shepard, I'm here to help." The Quarian continued to mumble to himself, completely oblivious to their presence. Shepard tried again, but there still wasn't a response. She rolled her eyes, snatched up her pistol, and shot one round into a computer screen. The Quarian jumped, and gasped.

"Will you talk to me now?" Shepard asked. Veetor stood, and stared at them.

"How… How did you escape? Where did you hide?" He asked nervously.

"We just got here; can you explain to us what happened?" Veetor swallowed, and hit play on a keyboard. The computer screens went to surveillance, showing the colonists frozen in place. Small bugs flew all over the place, and then a large brown creature with a large angled head came into the picture. It walked over to a colonist, picked her up, and then tossed her in a 'egg' shaped case.

"My god… I think that's a collector." Miranda said

"A what?" Shepard asked

"A collector. They don't really leave the omega 4 relay, they usually do mercenary work. Why would they be doing-"  
"Reapers." Shepard growled.

"The swarms came first, they froze everyone in place. Then the ships came, and the monsters took the people and then flew away. But they'll be back for me… No one escaped." Veetors voice was full of fear; Shepard's heart ached for the man.

"Great. Grab the Quarian, and let's go." Miranda said.

"No! Veetor needs medical attention! He's delirious and probably getting a horrible infection." Tali walked into the warehouse.

"Shepard, you are more than welcome to have his Omni-tool with the recorded data, but please let me take Veetor back home…" Tali turned to her old best friend. Shepard smiled.

"Veetor goes with Tali; we'll take his Omni-tool. That should satisfy the illusive man."

"But Shep-"

"That's an order Lawson." Shepard's voice hardened into stone. There was a sigh, and then a "aye commander"

"Thank you for saving my life Tali." Shepard said as they made it back to the loading pad.

"I couldn't let you die twice. Not when I could do something about it this time."

"Come with us." Shepard asked. Tali's shoulders tightened, and she fidgeted with her fingers.

"I'm still trying to get over the fact that you're alive… and I have a very important mission to do, I must see it through first. I will keep in touch however… Good luck Shepard." Tali wrapped her small arms around Shepard's waist. With a smile, Shepard hugged Tali back.

"See you soon Tali."  
"See you soon Shepard."

* * *

"The Flotilla send Veetor's data over to us, however I would have liked to question the Quarian myself." The Illusive man took a long drag of his cigarette.

"We got more than enough data." The Illusive man blew out a long trail of smoke

"That we did! It proves our suspicions about the Collectors being behind the attacks."  
"So you knew?"  
"As I said, we had our suspicions." Shepard rolled her eyes

"The reapers are behind this, I know it." She said.

"I have the same thought. You'll need a team; you will have to hit the collectors hard, at their home through the omega 4 relay. I'll send some Dossiers your way, you can go collect whoever you wish to first while I search for a way to get you through that relay." Shepard nodded

"As much as I hate it, I guess we're partners." Shepard said The Illusive man smiled as he took another drag.

"Guess so. I've got someone for you to fly a ship, someone you trust." With that the hologram fluttered out of sight, and Shepard turned to see Joker smiling from behind her.

"Holy shit." Joker said. Shepard smiled, her heart soaring to see someone she loved dearly, and trusted with her life. She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug, his body tensed for a moment, but he hugged her back.

"I can't believe it's you Joker." Shepard said as they started to walk back up the stairs.

"You're telling me! I saw you get spaced… like looking at a ghost." They came by a set of large windows, looking into darkness.

"Speaking of ghosts' check this out." Joker smiled and turned to look outside the window. A series of lights turned on, shining on a large white black and yellow ship, with four large engines and SR2 painted on the wings.

It was like looking in a mirror… Shepard smiled; her baby came back to her, even if she flew in different colors.

"I guess we should give her a name." A small tear pulled from the corner of her eyes, quickly she wiped it away.

"Normandy." They both said in unison. They smiled, and watched as the word get painted on in white. Shepard took in a deep breath, and sighed. Her mind drifted to time before, time when she sat in the old Normandy's mess hall, drinking coffee with Garrus and Tali, laughing about whatever. She missed those days, but somehow…

She knew they would happen again.

* * *

A/N: Chapter 2... I hope you enjoyed it. some tips would be good, please review:) I would like to see where its going for you guys!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N: I apologize for the long update... I didn't think anybody was reading, so I focused on other projects.

I hope you enjoy tho!:)review please! Makes e update MUCH faster xD

* * *

The bass hammered in Shepard's chest. She felt as if her heart was beating with it. She could smell cigar smoke, alcohol, and vomit. People of all species laughed and danced together. Shepard glanced at the bar and saw a Turian law a seductive hand on an Asari. Shepard shook her head. She was here for one thing, a bitch named Aria. Who demanded her attention as soon as she stepped off the ship.

"_You're not a stealthy as you thing Shepard." A Batarian said  
"You know who I am?" Shepard asked._

"_We had your ship tagged as soon as you entered orbit. Aria wished to speak with you, I suggest you get to afterlife."_

"_I'll go to afterlife when I damn well please." How dare he order her around!_

"_Afterlife. Now." And the Batarian stalked off._

Now, Shepard was in afterlife, with her new acquired teammate Zaeed, and she had no god damn idea where to go.

_Next time, ask for directions. _Shepard thought. She scanned the area, and chewed on her cheek as she found nothing. Only a few strippers, a large pink sign, and some Asari staring at her from a balcony.

Shepard almost slapped herself. With determined steps she weaved through the crowd of people and walked up the few steps to the balcony. The Asari didn't turn around, and they were stopped at gun point. Miranda and Zaeed pulled out their own weapons, Shepard however held up her hands in surrender.

"Scan them." The Asari said.

"Like hell!" Shepard said.

"Sorry Shepard, but I have to. Can't have a dead specter turn out to be somebody else. You want to talk, you get scanned." Shepard bit her tongue as the Batarian scanned their bodies.

"Their clean." He said. The Asari turned around, and Shepard widened her eyes at her beauty.

All Asari were beautiful, but this women held herself with pride and authority. She had a sense of 'Don't fuck with me' written all over her lean features.

"Aria I presume?" Shepard asked. Aria smiled

"The one and only."

"You run Omega?" Aria laughed and turned back around. She held her hands out, as if she were basking in the sun

"I am Omega." She turned back around

"Omega has only one rule Shepard." Aria turned back around and sat down on a pink couch. Shepard cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't _Fuck_ with Aria." A sneer came to her lips Shepard herself chuckled

"Simple rule. I like it." Shepard sat down next to her.

"So what is a dead specter doing here anyways?"

"I was wondering the same thing…" Came a mutter from Miranda. Aria ignored her, and kept her purple eyes on Shepard.

"Looking for someone. A guy named Archangel." It was Aria's turn to raise an eyebrow

"You want him dead to?" Shepard shook her head

"I need him for a mission." Aria snorted.

"Good luck. Half of Omega wants this guy's head. I'd say you can get in if you sign up with the mercs. There is a recruiting area downstairs. Hopefully this guy knows you're trying to help him." Shepard raised a curious eyebrow, but didn't asking any further questions. With a curt nod, she gathered her team and walked down the stairs and onto the main floor of Afterlife. Shepard sighed and rubbed her temples. A migraine was starting to form behind her eyes, it thumbed with the music.

_Great._ Shepard thought. She shook her head and spotted a Batarian in a blue suns get up. He noticed her, and then jerked his head towards a door not far from him. Shepard followed the direction and walked in to find another Batarian sending someone out. He looked up from his desk and chuckled.

"You're cute honey. But stripper's quarters are on the other side of Afterlife." Shepard growled and her biotics flared, illuminating the room in a soft purple glow. The Batarian smiled

"Got a temper do we? I might have use for you yet." Shepard didn't let her guard down, the purple energy was like a second skin. Not even phased, the Batarian continued

"We need you to help us in a plan to take down Archangel. This does not make you a member of the blue suns, eclipse, or blood pack. You get paid when the job is done and no your friends can't pick it up for you. You are a freelancer, that's it. You need your own weapons and armor, but looks like you got that covered. Ilk is outside waiting by a red hover car, meet him soon and he will take you where you need to go. Next!" He shouted. Shepard's shield went down and she turned her heel only to run smack dab into a young teenage boy. Her Migraine grew.

"Hey watch it!" He sneered. He was young, probably 18. Asian, human, and a wanna-be thug. Shepard shook her head

"What are you doing here kid?"

"To sign up for freelancing, what do you think?" He narrowed his dark eyes.

"Get out of here before you get yourself hurt."

"I grew up here on Omega, I can handle myself grandma." Grandma! Shepard was only 26! She took in a deep breath, and tried to rein in her emotions. Before she could retort, Zaeed stepped in

"If the boy wants to kill himself let him. Mom won't be getting the money, and she'll get bad news too. He wants to be a tough guy, a man. Let the little douche try." Zaeed sneered. Shepard nearly fell to the floor laughing, but she bit her lip trying not to.

"We have a mission to do Shepard, I suggest we do it." Miranda sneered. Shepard was about done with that snobby little bitch. She took in a deep breath, and walked out of the recruiting center. She needed out of afterlife, she wanted to just go kill something already.

* * *

A few minutes later they were sitting in the red hover car, heading towards the bridge where Archangel was hiding out. Miranda talked to the Batarian Ilk, trying to get any sort of information. Zaeed sat quietly, and Shepard laid her head against the cool glass window. Her head throbbed, She had no idea why it was hurting so god damn bad…

"Here we are." Ilk said as he landed the hover car. Shepard climbed out without as much as a word, her team right on their heels

"You need to go from Trask! He is head of the infiltration team!" Ilk shouted. Shepard headed down the hallway and turned the corner. She stopped however, when she say three doors in front of her

"Dammit." She growled. She chose the one of the right, and found it filled with Mechs.

"Maybe we should reprogram these, so they attack everyone else." Miranda suggested

"Do it." Miranda nodded and walked over to a terminal. Zaeed and Shepard stood watch. A few seconds later Miranda turned around with a look of triumph on her face

"Piece of cake." Shepard smiled back, and then walked through the center door.

She was met with a vorcha being blown off its feet. Bright red blood stained the floor and Shepard flinched. Looks like they were in the right direction

"Careful! Archangel is good with sniper!" Another Vorcha shouted as he ducked behind a crate. Shepard nodded and ran to the other side. She scanned the area, looking for Trask.

"He's over there, by the gunship." A male voice said. Shepard spun around and saw another human freelancer pointing in the direction behind her.

"Thanks." She said curtly and continued on her way.

She was almost to the gunship when suddenly her shields hissed. They beeped as they shattered.

She'd been shot with a disrupter round. Crafty little bastard. Shepard looked at the bridge to fine someone in bright blue armor. He had on a blue helmet, and was point a sniper right at her. When she thought she was done for, he moved a little to the left and shot a freelancer instead. Shepard grimaced as the man's head detached from his body.

He'd only taken down her shields. And chose NOT to kill her. Shepard continued on her way, deciding to figure that out later. She came into a garage to find another Batarian welding something onto a gunship.

"Trask?" Shepard shouted over the noise. Trask stopped his work and turned towards her.

"You must be the new recruit. You look like you can handle yourself." He pressed a button on the side of his helmet and the black visor slid up. He lit a cigarette and blew the smoke in Shepard's face.

"When do we start?" Shepard said as she waved the smoke away from her face.

"Soon. Once the blue suns give the word we'll be launching a full attack."

"Are you going to fight?" Trask snorted

"No way, they don't pay me enough for that. I just fix this baby up when she breaks." Shepard opened her mouth to reply, but the terminal behind her started to beep. Trask walked over to it and then turned back to her

"Looks like they're starting. I better get this ship fixed." Trask turned his back on Shepard, and continued his word. With no hesitation, she grabbed ahold of his head.

"You're working too hard." She whispered as she twisted his neck. There was a snap, then nothing. His body dropped in a dead heap.

Shepard shot down the last merc as she made her way upstairs. A titanium door was waiting for her. The light changed from red to green and Shepard walked through. She had her gun at the ready as she turned the corner, but lowered it when she saw Archangel perched on the same ledge.

"Archangel?" she asked dryly. He held up a finger to his mouth, then went back to his gun. There was a loud _POP!_ and he ejected his now empty thermal clip. He got to his feet and walked over to her, helmet still on. Shepard was tense, her headache was at its worst and she really wasn't in the mood for this man's mysterious act. Before she had a chance to speak he pulled off his helmet.

Shepard nearly shit herself.

* * *

A/N:Cliiffff hangerrr!

I don't own Mass effect.


End file.
